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Sunday, April 19, 2009

Mickey Rourke made a HUGE comeback with The Wrestler. He was nominated for an Oscar, he won a Golden Globe. This was not small potatoes despite the movie coming from relative obscurity. Now, I can not say whether his performance was Oscar-worthy because I don't know what the guy is like in real life.

Rourke plays Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a professional wrestler who peaked in the late 80s. He has wrestled as a has been for the past decade in small arenas, barely able to pay his bills. On the side, he has an unglamorous job working at a local grocery store. His only real enjoyment other than wrestling and his addiction to pills and 'roids, is Cassidy, an aging stripper played by Marisa Tomei.

After suffering a heart attack and receiving a quadruple bypass, Randy is told by the doctor that he can never wrestle again. Randy seeks out his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) in an effort to build a relationship. She and Cassidy are his only real hope for life outside of wrestling. Unfortunately, he can't get wrestling out of his blood.

Being married to a professional wrestling junkie, this was familiar territory to me. I've watched wrestling (before we had DVR, thank goodness, those days are over!) and have seen a few life stories here and there. It was definitely depressing, but very realistic. I thought it was somewhat long and leaned towards the boring side.

Family Time Factor: I have to say, I think this is a movie best watched by guys... alone.